Keith Richards Thinks the Rolling Stones Will Be Together Until They Die

In an admission that will probably surprise no one, Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards said that death will be the only thing to put a stop to the band.

In a new interview with Radio Times (via NME), the 72-year-old Richards said the Stones will stick around until they die. “They’re not really bands if they don’t last, they’re groups," he said. "We’re a band and a real band sticks until it dies. These bands, they become big, but they’re generational, just for their one decade. They literally go when their testosterone goes.”

Richards also noted in the interview that he thinks the Rolling Stones will still release some of the best music of their long career. Their last studio album, A Bigger Bang, arrived in 2005. The band is supposedly working on a new LP, a blues record that may or may not arrive this year, and may nor may not feature a guest spot from Eric Clapton.

“We work hard, and no one takes it for granted," Richards told Radio Times. "We’re still looking to make our best record and put on our best show. The Stones have managed to be part of life, without becoming passe. Also, what else are you going to do? You never grow up, you just learn a little more. I ain’t getting old, I’m evolving.”

Richards also took time to take another shot at the Rolling Stones' old rivals the Beatles, claiming that “they were never quite there” as a live band.